An Angel Visits Joseph======================Matthew 1:18–21 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, forhe will save his people from their sins” (v. 21).

Matthew wishes his Jewish audience to see — through the structure of hisgeneology — that Jesus is the Messiah. Beginning with Abraham (Matt. 1:2), twoof the three sets of fourteen generations in the list of ancestors findconclusions in David (v. 6) and the exile (v. 11). Of course, Abraham, David,and the deportation of Israel to Assyria and Babylon (2 Kings 17:7–23) arepivotal points in the story of God’s people. David fulfilled, in shadowy form,the Abrahamic promises, but his sons lost the kingdom. Yet Yahweh pledged tosend His servant, a greater son of David, to end Israel’s exile (Amos9:11–15). The placement of Joseph’s family at the end of the third set offourteen generations (Matt. 1:16) tells us that they will be the people Goduses to restore the kingdom.

Joseph is the adopted father of the Son who fulfills ultimately all of theLord’s promises. Righteous Joseph is a fine choice to raise the Christ, for heloves and delights in God’s law. According to the custom in Joseph’s day(circa 4 B.C.), he and his bride-to-be would be engaged for a full year(without cohabitation), and would require a legal divorce to dissolve theirbond. Mary becomes pregnant during this period (v. 18), which implies thecouple has had sexual relations unlawfully before the proper time. Joseph isnot guilty of this sin and needs to initiate a divorce to preserve hisrighteousness and good name. He is unwilling, however, to put Mary to shame,and so he pursues a private divorce, an acceptable provision according to thelaw of Moses (Num. 5:11–31), in order to avoid embarrassing Mary publicly(Matt. 1:19).

Neither Mary nor Joseph has sinned, and an angel is sent to tell Joseph not todivorce her. Mary has become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit and willbear One who will “save his people from their sins” (vv. 20–21). This Jesus,John Calvin tells us, delivers His people in two moves. “Having made acomplete atonement, he brings us a free pardon, which delivers us fromcondemnation to death, and reconciles us to God. Again, by the sanctifyinginfluences of his Spirit, he frees us from the tyranny of Satan, that we maylive ‘unto righteousness’ (1 Peter 2:24).”

Coram deo: Living before the face of God========================================In mercy, Joseph did not call for the Law’s harshest penalties on the wife hethought unfaithful (Deut. 22:13–21). Depending on the offense and itscircumstances, while the church is always called to discipline, it is notalways required to exact the harshest penalty. Applying God’s Word rightlyinvolves much prayer. Matthew Henry wrote: “Were there more of deliberation inour censures and judgments, there would be more of a mercy and moderation inthem.”